Avocado Farming in Kenya Threatens Elephants

The popularity of avocados might be threatening elephants. We can't just tell elephants, oh, please don't go over there and eat crops. You know, these are big animals. They build those huge bodies off plant material. They're eating machines. The free movement of approximately 2,000 Amboseli elephants, along with two dozen other wildlife species, could be under threat from avocado farming. Kenyan agricultural company Kiliavo Fresh Limited bought farmland near Amboseli National Park and is preparing to grow the popular fruit across 175 acres of land. The company started preparing the land in 2020, and an electric fence has been installed on the property. Conservationists say the completed project will block an important corridor where elephants move between Amboseli, Savo, and Chulu Hills National Parks. They say if the elephants are blocked by the farmland, they'll be forced to find alternative routes, creating the potential for human-wildlife conflicts and potentially inhibiting the animal's ability to breed. It's just obvious from the knowledge of biology that elephants require to be able to mix their genes. They require to be able to stabilize their gene pools by getting males from a different area, females from a different area, so that we don't have a lot of inbreeding. Kiliavo responded to the criticism by highlighting employment opportunities and infrastructural improvements they will bring to the area. Kenya's avocado export revenue reportedly went up 33% in 2020 to $127 million, whereas tourism reportedly pulled in $1.6 billion in 2019. Locals say that if the avocado farm moves forward, the tourism industry will also take a massive hit. Kenya's National Environment Management Agency ordered Kiliavo to halt work on the farmland after initially approving the company's environmental impact assessment. The case is reportedly pending in Kenya's environmental tribunal.